Examining and Evaluating the Multidimensional Energy Poverty Index (MEPI) in the Philippine Household Context

• Main Authors: Ignacio, Anna Katrina R., Puncia, Maria Sofia Lei P., Inocencio, Arlene B., Tiongco, Marites M., Conchada, Mitzie Irene P., Sobrevinas, Alellie B., Calub, Rens Adrian T.
• Format: text
• Published: Animo Repository 2021
• Subjects: Poverty; Energy Consumption; Philippine Household; Household; Energy Poverty; Growth and Development; Other Economics; Public Economics
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/res_aki/8; https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1007&context=res_aki
• Institution: De La Salle University

Energy poverty refers to insufficient energy consumption to meet one’s basic needs. Measuring energy poverty is a vital calculation for a household assessment concerning accessibility of energy, affordability of energy prices, usage of energy resources, and sufficiency of energy consumption. Previous literature has extensively used the multidimensional energy poverty index (MEPI) to analyze the lack of access to modern energy services, including energy poverty intensity and incidence, and provide a framework for government policymaking. However, there is a variation between countries on how MEPI energy deprivation factors affect household welfare. This study aims to determine more accurate measures of household energy poverty in the Philippines using the 2004 and 2011 Household Energy Consumption Survey (HECS) and illustrate critical factors that affect the energy deprivation scores of the improved MEPI in the Philippine household context. In conclusion, with the improved energy poverty weights and measures that are Philippine-specific, it revealed that households who are multidimensionally energy-poor across all regions have slightly worsened from 2004 to 2011. This calls for more interventions and more appropriate policy implementation of promoting access to modern energy services and aiding to improve the conditions of Philippine households.